 They
call him "Blackjack", named for the gnarled, leathery cocks of
his horny heroes. It's a name handed down through several generations of
Tijuana Bible collectors.
Blackjack
was one of the most important Tijuana Bible artists. Second to the master,
Mr. Prolific, in production, he created somewhere around 100 books in the
mid to late 1930's. Though he drew a number of comic character takeoffs,
his specialty was the celebrity parody, where few were spared his abuse,
especially, if you were dogged by gay rumors like Cary Grant.
Just recently, at auction,
TijuanaBible.org obtained the original drawings to five of Blackjack's
celebrity classics.
These are great 8 pagers featuring
Cary Grant, George Burns & Gracie Allen, Robert Young, Vera Zorina and
tough guy George Raft.
The Blackjack panels are
all separate brush & ink drawings on 3 x 5 drawing paper.
It's really a treat to view
these originals, the printing in most of the vintage Tijuana Bibles just
doesn't do Blackjack's artwork justice. The covers are especially lovely
and really show how talented this underrated artist was.
Check out new issues of
these classic books here.
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